Friday, October 30, 2009

Do You REALLY Have a Year’s Supply?

It is hard to put away a full year’s supply of food for most families, but in most cases, it can be achieved over a period of time.  

Food Storage With careful planning, the purchase of a few extra items each week and not straying from the food requirement plan you’ve created, your success is on the horizon.

Not everyone is allowed to have this much storage on hand.  Do the best you can in your circumstance.

The stored food is as good (if not better due to inflation) than money in the bank. 

It is evident that world and local economies have and will vary wildly due to war, greed, drought and other factors during our lifetimes.  Employment is not secure for anyone today. 

When bad times arrive at your door, some of the pressures will be eased because you’ll have food for your family if you have planned ahead and acted on your plan.

How much is a year’s supply of food?

I never been able to find the original author of the below information, but have confirmed the math used to arrive at the stated figures.  The suggestions are the minimums for each adult:

400 lbs. Grains (17.5 oz / day)

60 lbs. Beans (2.6 oz / day)

10 quarts Cooking oil (0.87 oz / day)

60 lbs. Honey (2.63 oz / day)

8 lbs. Salt (0.35 oz / day)

16 lbs Powdered milk (0.70 oz / day)

14 gallons of drinking water (for 2 weeks)

Just how much is that?

Two 5 gallon buckets will hold about 75 lbs of wheat, rice or other grains. This means you need 11 buckets of grain for each person in your family. If you store all your grains in #10 cans...

Wheat, Rice, Corn, etc..

You would need 64 cans or 10.5 cases per person.

Pasta

You would need 32 cans or 5.25 cases per person.

Rolled oats

These are lighter but bulkier, so they require more storage containers and space.

You would need 124 cans or 21 cases person.

Beans

A 25 lb bag of beans will about fit in a single 5 gallon bucket, with a little space over, so 2 buckets would hold a one person supply, or 12 -13 #10 cans or about 2 cases.

Daily Food

Dividing 400 lbs by 365 days, equals out to 1.09589 lbs, or just over 1lb of grain, per person, per day. That is approximately 2 cups of unground grain to cover your breakfast lunch and dinner.

Dividing 60 lbs by 365, this works out to 0.16 lbs of beans per day, or 2.6 oz— approximately 3/4 cup.

The other foods listed would also need to be used in limited amounts.

This is not much food folks.

Get the basics, then immediately begin to add more kinds of grain, soup mix, canned and/or dehydrated vegetables and fruit, etc to add variety and provide more than the minimal survival diet.

Without added items, consider this: The minimum recommended amount of grain, when ground and prepared will yield about 6 small biscuits or a plateful of pancakes. It’s enough to keep you alive, but a far cry from being satisfied and not hungry.  In other words, you’ll hate life.  Store additional food items!

Don’t forget to rotate your supply.  Use it as your own grocery store both to keep the supplies fresh and to learn to actually eat the food you’ve stored.  Remember to constantly replace the items you use.

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Helpful Items In Your Emergency Kit




· first aid book
· waterproof container
· assortment of band-aids
· gauze pads
· butterfly bandages
· cotton balls
· small roll of gauze
· adhesive tape
· cotton swabs (Q-Tips)
· safety pins
· Pepto-bismol tablets
· antacid tablets (good for bee sting)
· cold pack
· hydrogen peroxide
· alcohol (disinfectants)
· smelling salts
· medicine dropper tweezers
· alcohol wipes
· Benadryl capsules
· aspirin (promotes healing of burns)
· Tylenol (chewable for children)
· collapsible scissors
· thermometer
· crushable heat pack
· special prescriptions or equipment
· small tube or packets antiseptic cream
· ointment
· small spool thread/two needles
· toilet paper
· comfort food items
· book or reading material
· sleeping bag if you are going to exit your home or office
· change of clothing and comfortable walking shoes
· jacket(s) based on the climate in your area
· copy of your financial records, photocopy of your ID's and credit cards
· important telephone numbers including an out of state contact
· cash - $100 - $200 cash in small bills (you won't get change back)
· quarters - a roll or two of quarters for telephone calls - know where pay phones are located
· portable radio with fresh batteries
· flash light with fresh batteries


Miscellaneous items to consider for your emergency kit include:
· light stick
· small self-powered flashlight
· extra batteries
· pocket hand warmer
· compact fishing kit
· compass
· pocketknife
· 50 ft. nylon cord
· plastic poncho
· garbage bag
· paper or cards
· pen, pencil
· fine wire
· extra plastic bags
· small scriptures
· favorite songs
· small game, toy, etc.
· spare glasses
· additional money (small bills and change)
· field glasses
· toothbrush/toothpaste
· metal mirror
· comb
· razor
· pre-moistened wipes
· additional toilet paper - will be worth a lot in a barter
· feminine products
· sunscreen
· soap
· lip balm with sunscreen
· bandana (may be used for hat, washcloth, mask, sling, tourniquet)
· tube soap, bar soap, waterless soap
· identification/medical permission card
· special blanket or such for little people
· portable radio with extra batteries

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